Government transparency? Clear as mud

I’ve been at a meeting today where we were discussing the new government’s agenda and its implications for local government. One of the themes that came out was the government’s agenda for increased transparency in local government (for the record, a principle I agree with). One example is the duty for councils to publish all expenditure over £500. I find it interesting that central government departments will be required to publish only expenditure over £25,000.

One of the other interesting themes that came out of the session was the new language being used in central government. Regionalism and sub-region are not approved words any more apparently- some people are using pan-local instead, or just trying not to talk about regionalism. There are no longer targets, but milestones. Prototypes trial new projects, not pilots. And that’s before we even start trying to define the ‘big society’.

Clear as mud.